DANVERS, Massachusetts — A Maine man who convinced a 76-year-old Danvers man to pay him more than $6,500 to needlessly remove three branches from trees on his property three years ago was ordered Wednesday to pay restitution.
Christopher Evans, 32, of Lyman, Maine, pleaded guilty to two counts of larceny by false pretense during a hearing in Salem District Court, where, under the terms of a plea agreement, Judge Richard Mori imposed a suspended one-year jail term, a year of probation and the restitution order.
“This is a pretty despicable crime, taking advantage of the elderly,” Mori said after hearing from a prosecutor and Evans’ lawyer.
Back in December 2012, two men with a tree truck showed up at the victim’s home on River Street.
Evans told the man that branches from trees on his property were interfering with power lines and unless he paid Evans to remove them, he could be in trouble with the town, according to a police report.
Evans then drove the man to a bank to withdraw cash, and he paid Evans $2,650.
The next day, Evans and the other man showed up again, demanding another $3,875 and again driving him to the bank to withdraw the money.
Prosecutor Alexander Grimes explained to the judge the town of Danvers has a contract with a different tree service to trim branches that interfere with the power lines at no cost to property owners.
“This was a scam,” Grimes told the judge.
When contacted by police, Evans cynically told the officer, “I know how this game is played,” then said his lawyer would just tell him how much money he had to pay back.
Evans, who has similar cases in Haverhill and in Maine, did not appear in court on the larceny charges for two years. It was only when a police officer stopped him in Wilmington on moving violations that the warrants from Danvers and Haverhill popped up.
Evans’ Haverhill case, in which he also was charged with driving an elderly person to the bank to withdraw money to pay for tree work, was dismissed last month on condition that he pay $500 in restitution, according to a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
Under the terms of the Salem District Court plea agreement, Evans must pay at least $543 per month for restitution to the Danvers man.
“If those payments aren’t made, Middleton (Jail) awaits,” Mori warned.
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